Parts of Europe face a housing crisis, and the European Commission wants to act. But there is a problem: building homes, urban planning, and social housing are the responsibility of national, regional, and local governments. Housing is, for the most part, simply not an EU competence. To its credit, the Commission’s wider plan reflects this, most of its 10 actions address the real drivers: supply, investment, and vacant homes. The forthcoming Affordable Housing Act is the exception, targeting short-term rental (STR) services instead. 

Alex Roure · June 18, 2026

As the European Commission prepares to revise the Cybersecurity Act (CSA), Europe faces a critical moment to learn from past mistakes. Originally adopted in 2019 to build trust in information and communications technology (ICT) products and services, the CSA has yet to produce a single technology-specific certification scheme ready for adoption across the EU market. 

Alex Roure · December 9, 2025

Main takeaways The Single Market remains the EU’s greatest asset in achieving the economies of scale needed to drive innovation […]

Alex Roure · March 5, 2025

After the first round of hearings for the 2024-2029 European Commission by Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) during the […]

Aleksandra Zuchowska, Alex Roure and Maria Teresa Stecher · November 6, 2024

It’s been five years since the EU started debating how to unify and provide robust security standards for cloud services across all Member States, under the so-called European Cybersecurity Certification Scheme for Cloud Services (EUCS). The reality is that it would have taken a lot less time, had the conversation only focused on designing effective security controls – skipping protracted debates over duplicating a French certification scheme only designed to favour local cloud vendors. 

Alex Roure · October 22, 2024

For two years now, lobbying groups representing Europe’s biggest telecom operators have been claiming that their members need to make […]

Alex Roure · September 25, 2023

The world is becoming more volatile and unpredictable. Authoritarian governments are on the rise, and the rules-based international order is […]

Alex Roure · September 18, 2023

In case you missed it, the European Commission shared some very positive news over the summer. A new study confirms […]

Alex Roure · September 13, 2023

The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has long been considered a gold standard in privacy regulation by many. In […]

Alex Roure · March 1, 2023

Sexual crimes against children are a scourge and the European Commission proposed new rules to prevent and combat child sexual […]

Alex Roure · October 18, 2022